The anime itself will never go down that path. The creators have stated that Ash will stay 10 for as long as the show airs and you might as well take their word for it. It's targeted towards younger audiences because, you know, that's who plays the games the most out of all the age groups and the anime supplements the games. Therefore, it only makes sense that Ash will be younger so that the majority of the viewers can relate to him more. The writers believe that every new generation, they lose viewers so they try to adapt and keep the same. It's how it's been.
They did make a few references to Ash's past accomplishments, like in the first episode of BW, you can see the trophies lined up on his wall and such. There's that Terracotta Ribbon Advanceshippers never forget about, and that would definitely be an accomplishment. However, he's still unknown to most people. He's not a Champion or a Gym Leader, so his reputation can't build as much. He travels around, sure, but most probably wouldn't find him so memorable. It's just a trainer with a Pikachu. He hasn't won a major tournament, though he did conquer the Orange Islands and beat Drake...
I think it would also be an awesome show if they did go down some different path, but it is a formulaic anime so it will stay that way for some time. They won't try anything too drastic because they want to keep a target audience and so far, they're satisfied.